262 TRANSACTIONS OF THE CANADIAN INSTITUTE. [ Vou. Je #18 
surrendered and the Indians were reported to be very hostile to the 
English. Henry’s persistence finally triumphed, and early in the spring 
of 1761 he set out on his journey, with several large canoes heavily loaded. 
Following the Ottawa route he reached Mackinac several days in advance 
of a body of soldiers sent from Detroit to take possession of the fort. 
He found Mr. Bostwick already there and their lives seem to have been 
in some danger until the troops arrived. Detachments were immediately 
sent to occupy St. Joseph’s, Green Bay, and Sault Ste. Marie, but as the 
public buildings at the latter place were accidently burnt soon afterwards, 
its garrison was withdrawn. 
When Mackinac was taken by the Indians, Henry, Bostwick, Ezekiel 
Solomon, (another English merchant) and about three hundred French 
Canadian Voyageurs and others were made prisoners. A Mr. Tracy was 
the only English trader who was killed on that occasion. The small 
garrisons at St. Joseph’s and Green Bay were next compelled to surrender. 
In this extremity, Cadotte of Sault Ste. Marie proved himself a true friend 
to the English. He dissuaded the Chippewas of Lake Superior from 
joining Pontiac and used his influence to obtain the release of the prison- 
ers. Henry was sent by way of Lake Simcoe and Toronto to Niagara 
where he arrived in time to accompany Bradstreet’s avenging army to 
Detroit, in command of a small party of friendly Indians. 
In 1765, a regulation was adopted prohibiting all white men from trad- 
ing to westward of Detroit without a license and Henry’s perseverance was 
rewarded by the monopoly of the trade of Lake Superior. He seems to 
have had no ready money, but he promptly bought four freighted canoes 
at twelve month’s credit for 10,000 pounds of beaver. This fur was then 
worth 2s. 6d. a pound. At Mackinac the value of every commodity was 
reckoned in pounds of beaver. Manufactured goods of every kind 
brought fabulous prices. A stroud blanket was valued at ten beaver skins; 
a trade-musket at twenty ; a pound of powder or a two-pound axe at two; 
a knife or a pound of ball at one. For a shirt, Henry had shortly before 
paid ten pounds of beaver and fifteen for a pair of leggings. Even when 
a man went to the garrison-canteen, he took with him a marten skin 
(worth Is. 6d.) to pay for his drink. 
Henry took Cadotte into partnership and apparently put the trade of 
Sault Ste. Marie and the north shore into his hands. He next engaged 
twelve boatmen at one hundred pounds of beaver each for the season, 
and bought for their provision fifty bushels of Indian corn for ten pounds 
of beaver a bushel and the customary allowance of tallow at a dollar a 
pound. Upon arriving at Chagouamigon (or Chequamegon) Bay, where 
the French had formerly a trading post upon an island, he found the 
